Welcome to My Bitesize, let's get you set up!

Add your subjects to find the right study guides, track progress and keep everything in one place.

Add my subjects
My Subjects

3-dimensional solids - OCRSpheres

3-dimensional solids have faces, edges and vertices. Volume is the space contained within a 3D solid. Surface area is the sum of the area of each face. 3D solids can be viewed from different points.

Part ofMathsGeometry and measure

Spheres

Explore updated revision resources for GCSE Maths: Volume and surface area of a sphere, with step-by-step slideshows, quizzes, practice exam questions, and more!

The formula for the of a sphere is:

Sphere with r labelled

\(\text{volume of a sphere} = \frac{4}{3} \pi r^3\)

The surface area of a sphere can be calculated using the formula:

\(\text{surface area of a sphere} = 4 \pi r^2\)

Example

Calculate the volume and surface area of a football with a radius of 12 cm to 1 decimal place.

\(\begin{array}{rcl} \text{Volume} & = & \frac{4}{3} \pi r^3 \\ & = & \frac{4}{3} \times \pi \times 12^3 \\ & = & 7,238.2~\text{cm}^3 \end{array}\)

\(\begin{array}{rcl} \text{Surface area} & = & 4 \pi r^2 \\ & = & 4 \times \pi \times 12^2 \\ & = & 1,809.6~\text{cm}^2 \end{array}\)